


Swimming in Sausalito

by kitlee625, Sarahastro



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-17
Updated: 2014-10-17
Packaged: 2018-02-21 11:24:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2466470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitlee625/pseuds/kitlee625, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarahastro/pseuds/Sarahastro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"I was in the Bay for five hours."</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>"I fished you out eventually."</i>
</p>
<p>Our version of Coulson and May's first mission together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swimming in Sausalito

**Author's Note:**

> We had to write some Philinda fanfiction after Episode 2x04, and since everyone else is writing angst (thanks for all the feels), we decided to write some light-hearted adventure.

It is supposed to be a simple assignment: rendezvous with the asset at a coffee shop in Sausalito, pick up the intel, return to base. May could barely contain her disappointment in the commander’s office, and she does not bother doing so on the flight from the Academy.

“It’s insulting,” she argues. “We’re two of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s best new agents, and they send us to retrieve a briefcase from Sausalito!”

“We’re level ones. And the Commander says that this intel is important.” She gives him an unimpressed stare. “Maybe we can do some sightseeing before we take the jet back. I’ve never been to Sausalito, have you?”

She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t join S.H.I.E.L.D. to go sightseeing.”

They land at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in San Francisco and drive across the bay to Sausalito. The coffee shop is easy to find, and they park the car in a lot nearby. They look like tourists, wearing brand-new San Francisco sweatshirts, the kind they sell in all of the gift shops. Coulson has planned an elaborate backstory, and even though he thought she rolled her eyes when he went over it during the car ride, as soon as she steps out of the car she slips right into character. “Oh Rob, it’s so beautiful here.”

Coulson walks to her side of the car and puts his arms around her. “I’m really glad we came here.”

She leans up and kisses him. “It’s the perfect graduation trip. Let’s get some tea and then go for a walk by the water.”

It is not hard for Coulson to put on a sweet, adoring smile as he follows her into the coffee shop. Inside, they get their drinks and sit to wait for their contact. Coulson tries not to fidget or fuss with the backpack he has tucked under the table while he drinks coffee and pretends to make plans for their fake vacation. He keeps an eye on the other customers and workers while May watches the door. It is almost like they are back at the Academy in their undercover surveillance class, but he is very aware that this is not just for practice.

If May is nervous or feeling the pressure, she does not show it. She holds his hand and makes innocent small talk. “I need to remember to buy my mother and grandmother some souvenirs. What do you think they would like?”

“I don’t know, but there are plenty of stores around here where we can find something. Maybe a snow globe?”

“My mom would love that. She can keep it on her desk at work.”

Coulson has to stifle a laugh. He can just imagine May’s mother’s look of pride as she shows off the snow globe to her colleagues and brags about her daughter’s first mission. But before he can say anything, the door opens, and May’s face stiffens slightly. A few seconds later Coulson sees an Indian man in a dark suit enter the coffee shop holding a leather briefcase. He orders a cup of tea, then goes to sit at the window. The handoff is supposed to happen in the bathroom, and when he gets the signal, Coulson gets up to use the men’s room.

“Aren’t you two a little young to be agents?” the asset asks when he comes into the bathroom. Coulson looks startled, and he says, “Relax kid. I swept the place for bugs before I came in. It’s clean.” He drops the briefcase on the floor.

Coulson waits for him to say something else, but the man goes into the stall. Coulson feels a little disappointed that his first op is so anticlimactic. He debates putting the files loose in his backpack, but the trash can is not big enough to hide the briefcase, so he ends up putting the entire thing into his bag. It barely fits, and there is a sharp edge at the top and sides where it stretches the fabric. He frowns and hopes it is not too conspicuous, but there are no other options.

He tries to look calm as he comes out and sits back down across from Melinda. “Ready to go sweetie?”

Her eyes flicker at the bulging backpack as if also wondering how they are going to get it out of their unnoticed, but it is too late to do anything about. “Sure. Where do you want to go to dinner?”

“I’m not sure. Did you have a place in mind?”

“The guidebook had a good seafood restaurant, right on the water. Or we could go back to San Francisco. I could take you to get real Chinese food.” She smiles teasingly as they walk out of the restaurant and down the street.

She has been trying to get him to try non-Americanized Chinese food for years, and Coulson grimaces. “I don’t know -” he begins, but before he can complete the thought a man in a dark suit jumps out of the shadows and knocks him unconscious with a swift blow to the head.

*****

The water is even colder than she expected, so cold that it almost takes her breath away. Somehow she manages to hold onto the backpack even though the current threatens to rip it out of her hands. She swims underwater until her lungs are burning for air before surfacing and taking stock of the situation.

It had all happened so fast. When the man stole the intel, she had reacted on instinct, chasing him onto his boat and wrestling the backpack away from him. When his accomplice came out from below decks with a gun, she had had to dive into the harbor to get away. Now she is unsure what to do next. Between the cold and the current, she does not think she can swim all the way back to shore, and even if she could, she is bound to attract attention. The last thing she needs is to be rushed to a civilian hospital by well-meaning passersby before she gets a chance to drop off the intel.

She wonders where Coulson is and if he is all right. He fell hard, but she was so focused on retrieving the intel that she did not stop to make sure he was okay. She feels guilty -- only her first mission, and she has already abandoned her partner. She hopes that he is well enough to make it back to base.

She spots a buoy not far from her current position and swims over to it, using the marker to keep her afloat and shield her from any casual observers. If she is going to try swimming to shore, she should wait until it gets dark to try to avoid detection. Until then, she can use the buoy to rest and regain her strength. She hoists herself out of the water as much as possible and shivers as the breeze passes over her wet skin. She hopes she can hang on until nightfall.

*****

When he wakes up the first thing he notices is a splitting pain in the side of his head. A small crowd has gathered and is staring at him.

“Are you okay?”

Coulson nods and stands, wincing. “I think so. But my backpack is gone.”

“Muggers,” the man says. “They took off that way.” He points down the pier. “You should go to a hospital and get your head checked out.”

“I will.”

A woman gestures at a nearby store and says, “I could ask them to call an ambulance.”

Coulson gives her his best reassuring smile. “That’s not necessary. I’m fine. My car is nearby. I’ll just drive myself.”

He starts walking back towards the car, but when he gets there May is nowhere to be found. He leans against it and takes stock of the situation. He has lost the intel and his partner. He does not even have the keys to the rental car -- May has them. He walks back towards the coffee shop and searches the shoreline for over an hour, but there is no sign of her. Periodically he ducks into the stores to see if anyone saw anything, but no one mentions seeing anyone get arrested. He hopes this means that she has gotten to safety, but he has no idea where she might be.

He is making his third pass down the sidewalk when it hits him. She must be in the bay. He wonders how he can search the bay without drawing attention to himself and notices a store offering boats for rent. He pays for an all-day rental on a kayak and sets off. It takes him several hours to find her, but finally he spots her clinging to a buoy, soaking wet and miserable, but still holding onto the backpack.

“The intel better be worth it,” she says as he hauls her into the kayak.

“I just hope it’s waterproof.” He looks mournfully at the backpack, and May glares at him. Quickly, he pulls off his sweatshirt and hands it to her. She peels her own wet one off and puts his on. She is shivering, and her lips are blue. As he paddles back to shore, he says, “After we drop off the briefcase, we can get some dinner, on me. Anywhere you want.” He braces himself to eat some unidentifiable meat in Chinatown.

May shakes her head. “I’m exhausted. I just want to go back to the hotel, take a long bath, and order room service.”

*****

May is so exhausted that she passes out before room service even arrives. When she wakes the next morning, Coulson is asleep on the bed next to her. Her untouched food is still sitting on the dresser, and next to it she finds a Sausalito snow globe.


End file.
